Category: News

You’ve heard the phrase “love at first sight,” but what about “love at first sound?” Netflix’s hit show Love Is Blind sets out to answer that question with a social experiment. A group of single men and women date each other, fall in love, and get engaged — all without seeing the other person. Follow along as Uproxx ranks each couple and recaps the best tear-jerking and cringe-worthy moments from season 4.

(WARNING: Spoilers for up to episode 8 of Love Is Blind season 4 will be found below.)

Netflix has delivered three new episodes of Love Is Blind season four for us. The newly-engaged couples have returned from their honeymoon in Mexico and they are now back home in Seattle. It’s here that they will get used to living with each other for a short time before the wedding and meet each other’s families and friends. This goes well for some and it causes problems for others, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary for Love Is Blind. What is unusual is two proposals from the same man to different women in the same season (you’ll see what we mean in a second).

Now that these episodes are available to stream on Netflix, we’re here to give you a recap of what went down in each episode. After that, we’ll leave you with our biggest takeaways from the three episodes ahead of the next trio of episodes Netflix will release before the finale. So, let’s get into it! — Wongo Okon

Episode 6

The couples are officially out of paradise and back in Seattle, sharing an apartment together and learning if they’re suited to live together long-term. There’s already been a few discrepancies, including Kwame and Chelsea having very different standards of cleanliness. Granted, seeing how messy Kwame’s apartment was in episode 7, this is clearly going to be more than a one-time conversation.

Micah told Paul that Irina has a crush on him — which she said made her question her own relationship with him — and later confronted Irina about it directly. While Irina did admit that being flirty with Paul wasn’t something a good friend would do, I personally never heard the words “I’m sorry,” so the jury is still out on whether or not that was a legit apology. Paul later told Zack he thinks Micah meets the “minimum criteria for a perfect woman,” which is a very odd way of saying he’s into her.

Who else was totally bawling when Tiffany’s friends met Brett for the first time? They are so clearly in love that I’m going to be beside myself if they don’t make it past the altar. Tiffany’s friends did say she’s a chronic napper and have fallen asleep on them before, so it seems like Brett isn’t alone on that one.

The biggest event in this episode was Zack and Bliss meeting for the first time. They both seemed nervous at first, but Bliss’ positive response to his question about his intense eye contact sealed the deal for him. Their date was actually a legit blind date and I think them meeting up in this way takes some of the pressure off of the “reveal” at the end of the pods. It makes me wonder if more couples would last if the show allowed for casual dates after the pods, rather than jumping right into co-habitation. — Carolyn Droke

Episode 7

Kwame met Chelsea’s dad, which kicked off the episode on a lovely start. However, things get a little tense when he calls his mom and she winds up being less-than-accepting about the unique engagement process of the show. This might prove to be a defining factor of their altar decision. That, and their struggle to compromise on a moving plan, when she doesn’t work a remote job in Seattle, but Kwame does from Portland.

Then, we have the newly-reformed Zack and Bliss, who are a better pairing but still sort of awkward. She shows up to help him make some steaks and shrimp for dinner — but he accidentally destroyed some of the food. “Oh no, it’s a sign,” she says. “I should just go home.” There were also a few things that bugged me about his apartment, from the tiny wooden table they both tried to eat the remaining, non-wrecked food at, to the painting of two owls hung right over it that watched them. I have many questions about the people on this show, which typically reduce to just… Why?

While we’re on the subject of the ladies seeing their men’s apartments for the first time, Kwame’s is introduced by a shot of his dead plant and a pack of IPAs, as Chelsea still keeps it nice by telling him, “It’s so cute in here.” His clothes are strewn around. There’s toothpaste and other… objects on the living room table. He has a thing called “Mindful Moments” on his desk. Arguably the biggest red flag is when he opens to show her his fridge, which only has eggs, various sauces (mustard, ketchup, etc.), and what seems to be an unopened bottle of rosé. (This alone is a red flag for any man that has rosé on hand in their house.) No real groceries or gameplan, just pure frat bro vibes going on in Kwame’s apartment. She doesn’t seem to mind it though.

In contrast, Paul’s plants are mostly alive, but he has a strong, strong preference for wooden furniture and Micah immediately hates it.

Tensions run highest for Marshall and Jackelina in this episode, as she breaks down from the stress of the process — just before his family is expected to show up to meet them both. He tries his best to be as comforting to her, but she fires back that his energy is adding to her negative pressure. She puts on an overall good face during the family meal.

The episode closes with Bliss and Zack starting their boat date with a confusing-but-hilarious conversation about the movie Gremlins. As someone who relates to Gizmo, I was a bit obsessed. Their thought process fascinates me because it eventually switches to a ranking of fruits and hating PB&J. And then, a cliffhanger of the moment some might have been waiting for — Zack’s second proposal. — Lexi Lane

Episode 8

Well, it’s official! Zach has effectively saved himself from Love Is Blind exile now that he and Bliss are officially engaged. Despite all the drama that surrounds them, you know, like Zach being engaged to a whole other woman a few episodes ago, Bliss says that her new relationship with Zach “feels right.” Things are somewhat going well for Paul and Micah. They get Micah’s parents’ blessing for their impending marriage, but Micah’s best friend Shelby is not a fan of Paul. She flat-out disapproves of Paul, something she determines in her sub-10-minute meeting with him. This crushes Micah as she greatly values Shelby’s opinion. Amber, who Paul broke up with in the pods, also makes an appearance at the end of the episode. Paul briefly freaks out over her appearance, but he’s able to steer clear of any drama there.

Marshall and Jackie get into a heated argument in this episode. In Marshall’s words, Jackie claimed that he was not “man enough” for her, but Jackie corrects him and clarifies that she just wants him to be more aggressive with her, specifically in the bedroom with initiating sex. Marshall tries to explain his side, but his argument and any chance of being understood go away when he calls Jackie and their growing relationship a “project.” Marshall quickly clarifies his point and gets his feelings across to Jackie and ends it by telling her “I f*cking love you.” Josh, Jackie’s former love interest from the pods, also returns in this episode. He wastes no opportunity to drunkenly express his true feelings for Jackie while also throwing shade at Marshall by calling him “MBA YoungBoy.”

Kwame and Chelsea still have plenty of things to work through. In this episode, Kwame accompanies Chelsea to help her get her dog Rocky washed. I wish I kept count of how many times Kwame said “I love Rocky,” because it was said in such as self-assuring way that essentially proved how much he doesn’t like Rocky. Kwame later hints that he’s not quite ready to jump into parenthood and would like to do so in a few years (maybe longer) after traveling the world with Chelsea and having their relationship to themselves. He then makes a point about how much he’s compromising in their relationship, especially with his impending move from Portland to Seattle. This idea of compromising in love is something Kwame discusses with a few Love Is Blind castmates at Chelsea’s birthday celebration, so clearly it’s something that bothers him more than he lets on. It’s also there that Kwame has another conversation with Micah where he gushes about their “seamless connection” and more.

Last and certainly not least, there’s Brett and Tiffany who continue their reign as this season’s favorite couple. They enjoy lunch together and make cheeky jokes with each other. Brett effortlessly calms Tiffany’s worries about the wedding, and Tiffany finds resolve in their relationship’s potential because of the relationship her grandparents had. There’s not much to recap with Brett and Tiffany from this episode, and that’s a good thing for them. With all the drama that goes down, it’s good that they’re able to steer clear of it all and just fly under the radar in love. — Wongo Okon

The Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 6-8

• Zack managed to make not one but two proposals extremely uncomfortable.
• Jackie has a lot to work through and Marshall has to let her do it.
• Brett & Tiffany are the only sign of peace and normalcy this season.
• Kwame needs to learn how to sleep on a mattress like a normal adult human being.
• Micah treats Paul like a shiny new action figure — a trophy husband at that.
• Paul’s mother probably knows Micah’s blood type.
• Kwame hates that dog.
• Brett & Marshall and Zack & Paul have awesome bromances.
• Several contestants’ parents were absolutely not on board with this experiment.

‘Love Is Blind’ season four is currently available to stream on Netflix.

It’s been nearly five years since the tragic death of Mac Miller. The estate of the late rapper has worked hard to manage the requests from his fans for more works featuring Miller while uploading his legacy. Whether through the release of unreleased footage, uploading past projects to streaming, launching a grant program in his honor, or on the flipside denouncing unauthorized works, Miller’s estate has remained very active.

The estate’s latest approval has fans jumping for joy. Legendary producer Madlib and Mac Miller’s collaborative project Maclib will finally see the light of day. During Madlib’s appearance on Sway In The Morning, the musician revealed that the estate had finally approved its release.

Although Madlib didn’t share much about the project during the interview, he’s what we do know. Mac Miller and Madlib began working on the project sometime before Mac’s 2018 death. When host Sway asked Madlib about the project, calling it Maclib, the producer did not correct the name of the project. So, it is safe to assume the name has not yet changed. Also, during the interview, Madlib discussed that there were are few other projects he’s working on, so Maclib, could drop Maclib after those are done. A formal release date was not given, but during the chat, he didn’t rule out the project being released before the year’s end.

Madlib has previewed different parts of the project at his shows, but he has made it clear that it may not be a full-length project but rather he EP because of how much original material was recorded.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When it comes to statements of support for Donald Trump on the heels of his indictment, his most beloved child, Ivanka Trump, really didn’t go out of her way to back up dear old dad.

The former president’s eldest addressed Trump’s indictment in an Instagram Story, which is pretty funny if you know anything about how Instagram works. Namely, that Stories disappear in 24 hours. Your father just got indicted by a grand jury, and you can’t even make him a permanent post? Harsh.

As for Ivanka’s statement, well, it is certainly words about her dad’s predicament. Not a whole lot of them, or even anything specific, but they are about him in a way.

“I love my father and I love my country. Today I am pained for both,” Ivanka wrote. “I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.”

When asked by The Daily Beast if Ivanka would be addressing her father’s indictment further, an aide simply said, “That is all.” You can truly feel the love.

Of course, Ivanka’s tepid statement aligns with a previous report that she’s done trying to help Donald. According to sources for PEOPLE, Ivanka is reportedly “through with politics.” Her attention is now focused on her social life, which apparently took a hit thanks to working for Trump’s White House.

“She basically wants a new life to compensate for what she lost when she spent four years in her father’s Washington,” PEOPLE reports. “She misses her active social life and group of friends.”

Damn. At this point, she might as well write, “Have fun in prison, dad!” which would honestly be more personal. Trump loves a good exclamation mark.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Thanks in large part to the expectations set up by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s hard to know whether you should get up out of your seat once the end credits start rolling on a movie — or wait and see if there’s any post-credits action that might add to your overall enjoyment of a film.

While Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is not a part of the MCU, it’s undoubtedly the kind of movie where you might expect to find secret shout-outs, Easter eggs, and perhaps a post-credits scene or two. If you’re wondering if that is indeed the case with the new film, The Digital Fix reports that: yes, you’ll want to stay seated.

GameRevolution shared even more about this bonus content (in case you want to know what you’re in for). According to the site, the extra scene pops up in the middle of the final credits (not the end), and doesn’t do anything as important as tease a sequel or relay any key piece of intel. Instead, writes GameRevoution:

“[It] is a throwback to the earlier events of the movie, which we won’t discuss in too much detail. Basically, there’s a reanimated corpse, who can only rest once he has been asked a question. However, he is alone, and seemingly forever waiting for that question to come. It’s a funny scene, but not one that is essential to the overall enjoyment of the movie.”

While there was some trepidation about how the iconic RPG would translate to the big screen, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is proving to be a hit with both critics and audiences alike.

(Via The Digital Fix)

It’s 4:00 a.m. and Janine Nabers is tired.

She’s spent the past five hours watching Dominique Fishback flatten the world’s biggest pop star with a beat-up, four-door sedan. Billie Eilish is on the pavement, blood gushing from her nose as a group of white women in crinkled linen blouses scream and rage, their haute couture hippie blouses blowing in the wind as they mount the car’s hood, tear at its rear-view mirrors and chase it down a rocky stretch of road.

The scene is a pivotal one for the creator’s latest TV show, Prime Video’s dark, psychological horror thriller Swarm. It marks the relapse of Fishback’s Dre, who found some semblance of peace – albeit the manufactured kind – amongst these Nexium Cult stand-ins after a multi-episode killing spree in pursuit of her idol, a global icon named Nijah whose similarities to Beyonce are entirely intentional.

Nabers remembers how tricky the scene was to navigate. Fishback doesn’t drive, Eilish has never acted in something like this before. The stunts were complicated and the editing process long. And, did we mention she was pregnant at the time?

“The stakes were really high,” Nabers tells Uproxx. “You’re dealing with stunt people and then you’re dealing with the real actors. There are so many things that you have to do in order to really stay safe while making a shot like this.”

But the end result was worth it.

“[It’s] a really beautiful and brutal scene that I think will be one of the things a lot of people talk about with the show.”

Beautiful and brutal have historically been mutually exclusive terms when it comes to depicting Black female characters on-screen. While their white counterparts are allowed to be messy, flawed, psychotic, and even homicidal, Black women are unfairly held to outdated likability standards. They’re the therapist, the best friend, and the accompaniment to someone else’s story. Not always, of course, but often enough to motivate Nabers to create a seven-episode fever dream about a Black woman on a killing spree while chasing her favorite artist.

“I came to LA in 2014 when the anti-hero was really starting to make a big swing. We’d seen the Tony Sopranos and we’d seen the Mad Mens, but now we were starting to see more women in that role too,” Naber says while talking about writing the character of Dre. “When Donald pitched this idea, it kind of clicked for me. We see so many white men and women behaving badly on TV, but we still have empathy for them. We still find them funny, we find them scary. All of these really powerful, iconic characters, but it’s always been reserved in a very white space. So I just really wanted to focus on creating that for us, for the Black community within this Black cultural lens.”

“Donald” as in Glover, as in Childish Gambino, as in the multihyphenate creator behind Atlanta, tapped Nabers to flesh out a concept he had about stan-dom – its relatable highs and dark, depraved lows. Nabers had written on his FX series before it came to a close, and she’d served on other shows where female characters were afforded the space to behave badly (though, admittedly, not this badly).

“My first boss in Hollywood was a woman, and I learned a lot from her,” Nabers says, recalling her work on shows like Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, UnReal, Dietland, and later, Watchmen. “You learn so much about being brave and being able to say, ‘Look, this character’s a woman. I’m a woman. I wrote this character. This is what I think, and this is why you probably need to listen to me because you’re not a woman.’”

Glover’s influence allowed the writing team to take liberties with images of some of the biggest names in the music world, name-dropping artists like Halsey and recreating the events surrounding Beyonce’s Lemonade release. “I think if a room of black writers gives you a shout-out culturally in a way that’s really funny and a little meta, I would hope that Halsey would understand that we fuck with her,” Nabers says of the show’s pop culture references. “I hope Beyonce understands that.”

But it’s her DNA that’s infused in this thing. From the horror influences to the Houston backdrop, to how she ran her set, employing both an intimacy coordinator for the show’s racy sex scenes and a sensitivity coordinator for stars like Fishback to decompress the heavier, emotional beats of the story. Nabers built an environment that allowed her cast and crew to go to the dark places Dre’s obsession demanded.

On the much-discussed opening sex scene, she remembers Chloe Bailey’s work ethic. “It’s really just about making sure Chloe feels protected, which she does,” Nabers says. “She is such an incredible professional. I just hope that people see past just this one 15-second scene and really kind of just focus on the story at hand.” That scene, according to Nabers, introduces the character of Dre in a way that’s both intimate and alienating. Playing with horror tropes surrounding women’s virginity that have existed on screen for decades, the showrunner wanted people to understand Dre’s sense of isolation in a visceral way.

“I think when you look at the horror trope, there’s always some sort of underlying sexual component to it. And for me, it was always trying to subvert it as much as possible,” Nabers explains. “As a black woman, I really wanted to make sure that we understood that Dre’s relationship with sex was very foreign to her and that was part of her character. You see that kind of become the thing that a lot of people talk about with her.”

But if Dre’s otherness, and her embrace of violence as a means to ascend the fandom hierarchy challenged viewers, writing about the destruction this female anti-hero left in her wake also pushed Nabers out of her comfort zone. She recalls writing the show’s fifth episode with Malia Obama (yes, that Malia Obama) and how she had to advocate for her mental health during the process.

“When you have life inside of you, your chemistry changes, right? And so that is very much part of the growth of myself as a writer,” she says. “I remember at some point kind of stopping and calling one of the producers and being like, ‘This is really hard for me to write these parents,’ and having to take a couple of days to get back into the groove of it.”

As Nabers says, the train must always move on. She gave birth while filming the series, returning to set just a short time later explaining, “That’s just how TV works. It can’t really stop for anything.”

Inevitably though, that movement does come to an end. In Swarm’s case, an ambiguous one meant to test the viewer’s story retention and keep them dwelling on the unsettling imagery of the show long past the credit’s scroll. Nabers admits she sees the story as beginning and ending with Dre’s sister, Marissa (Bailey) but it’s up to fans to suss out whether that dreamlike meeting between the serial killing stan and her stadium-packing deity actually happened. It’s another way she’s trying to put her own stamp on the world of TV.

“I believe in endings,” Nabers says. “And this show has an end. You might not understand it, you might question it, you might read into it. But that’s an ending for me. “That that’s what artists do. We made an album, we made a character, we made a world, and now it’s your time to take it in.”

If she sounds confident in the world she built, empowered by the team she built it with, and excited by the prospect of throwing down a kind of gauntlet, it’s because she is. She’s investigated the “weird dance” of celebrity worship with Swarm, placing an unsettling amount of light on the dark corners of the internet that invite us to comment on Britney Spears’ Instagram posts ad-nauseum and embed ourselves in each other’s lives to a “scary” degree. And, she’s created a Black female character who not only broke bad – she broke the damn internet.

Nabers credits the women she’s worked with in the past for giving her the drive to not only keep going in the industry but to keep creating characters that make us cringe and cower in their relatability, ones that mow down victims in their stolen sedans and gorge themselves on pies after murdering fuckbois and literally consume the thing they love most to the point of self-destruction.

“There is no other character like this,” Nabers says. “We’re starting on a blank page. So for me to be able to say what I need to say as the creator of her, I think is really powerful. And I think all of the women that I worked for before me taught me that.”

In December of 2022, Billie Eilish fans collectively flipped when the “Bad Guy” singer brought out the English R&B singer Labrinth on stage at show at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum. Known for the soundtrack of HBO’s Euphoria, he performed “I’ve Never Felt So Alone” with Eilish, as well as “Mount Everest” from his 2019 LP Imagination & The Misfit Kid.

So, maybe it’s just wishful thinking that fans are now speculating that the two may have a collaboration coming. It is possible, though. On Instagram, Labrinth posted a teaser of something called “Never Felt So Alone,” coming next Friday (April 7). Eilish made a simple comment that has sparked loads of theories: A winky face. That’s right. Only two symbols, but what does it mean?…

Recently, Eilish appeared on the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast and discussed the weirdness of her extreme level of fame. “I played my first stadiums over the summer,” she said. “I was like, ‘I’m in a stadium, it’s so sick, it’s so big, you’re a f*cking star.’ And then you’re on the stage and you feel like you’re alone. It feels like there’s a printed out wallpaper of thousands of people. They’re so far away that there’s like no intimacy.”

At this point, the only person who knows if Ted Lasso will return seems to be the fictional Ted Lasso himself and maybe whoever bakes those biscuits. But the cast sure is having fun throwing out wild theories and red herrings as to how this third season will end. Spoiler (ish) alert (?): they keep doubling down on the “everybody dies” joke. Hopefully, it remains a joke.

But even though the future is uncertain, writer and star Brett Goldstein admitted that those final days on set were very emotional. Goldstein said that, despite them not knowing if the show would return, the crew acted as if it would be their final shot (because it probably is). While on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor went into detail about the final scene they shot.

“The last day, I think it was, like, mean of the AD, they deliberately scheduled the last scene, had everyone in it, in the locker room. And it was already an emotional scene,” Goldstein explained. “Eventually they said, ‘That’s a wrap’ and then 250 people, set designers, accountants, everyone, rushed into the locker room, and everyone hugged and kissed, we had an orgy, you know, normal stuff,” he quipped, seemingly unable to get rid of his signature Roy Kent joke delivery. And why should he?

The actor, who co-created Apple TV+’s latest hit Shrinking, later admitted that the scene got him a little misty-eyed. “Everyone was crying and Jason did his speech… I kept sneaking off to the shower set to have a cry so no one could see. And I’d come back in like ‘why are you all crying? What’s wrong with you.’” Isn’t the whole point of Ted Lasso to prove that male emotions are important too?! Let it out, Brett! This is what Jason Sudeikis has been trying to tell you all this time.

Even though Lasso is (maybe) done, Goldstein says that he would consider appearing in Shrinking. He is quite literally here, there, and everywhere.

Check out the clip below.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

There’s a new outdoor music festival on the block, and it’s dedicated to rock lovers. Goldenvoice’s Power Trip Festival is set to take over the grounds of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California this October (aka Rocktober). The multi-day event is set to be headlined by Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, and Tool.

Although tickets don’t officially go on sale until next week (April 4), those looking to attend will need to start pinching their pennies now. On the event’s website, there are several ticket options for interested parties, which all promise varying experiences.

The ticket options are general admission (starting at $599 with fees; add-ons include shuttle transition service), reserved floor seats (starting at $799 with fees), reserved grandstand seats (starting at $1,099 with fees), the pit (starting at $1,599 with fees), and VIP packages (starting at $1,749).

All packages have different tiered choices and optional add-ons. There is another ticketing designation for concertgoers looking to camp on the grounds.

As far as the lineup goes, Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden will perform on Friday (October 6). AC/DC and Osbourne will headline on Saturday (October 7). While Metallica and Tool will close out the festival on Sunday (October 8).

Power Trip Festival is set to take place between October 6 and 8. For more information, click here.

When Penn Badgley revealed he’d asked producers on his hit Netflix show You to cut down the number of on-screen intimacy scenes required of his character – the serial-killing, book-loving, window-peeping Joe Goldberg — it reignited a debate that’s been raging for decades. Some fans bemoaned both Badgley’s choice and his reasoning for it – the importance of fidelity in his real-life marriage to Domino Kirke-Badgley. They accused the actor of conflating the performance of intimacy, choreographed and consented to, with the actual act of adultery. Others applauded Badgley for standing firm in his values and setting personal boundaries on set. The terminally online used the controversy to unseal a can of worms that have been squirming beneath our society’s puritanical foundations for quite a while now.

Is there too much sex on screen?

The answer to that question is, as it’s always been, relative. To the shows you watch. The streaming platforms you subscribe to. The movies you buy tickets to see. It’s also biased – based on an individual’s attitudes towards sex and nudity that the industry as a whole just can’t afford to cater to. It’s a pointless query to ask with an unsatisfying answer, hence why it continues to pop up every few years.

The more interesting question is why now? Why, with the rise of intimacy coordinators, the praise heaped upon sex scenes filmed with the female gaze in mind, and the abundance of storytellers centering women’s sexual experiences on-screen (the good, the bad, and the downright awkward), are we dipping back into this bone-dry discourse well.

With so much progress made, why are we bothered by seeing sex on screen now?

I thought Badgley’s retroactive version of an intimacy rider would be the viral hook of this story when it was pitched weeks ago. But then, Swarm happened. The psychological thriller on Amazon Prime is filled to the brim with violence, gore, drugs, cults, and Beyonce references but the most performative pearl-clutching on social media happened in response to actress Chloe Bailey’s brief sex scene in the show’s premiere episode. Save a glimpse of her bare buttocks and co-star Damson Idris’ chest, there was barely any nudity and minimal dialogue – most of it moans and grunts happening off-camera as the audience zeroed in on Dre’s (Dominique Fishback) reaction to watching the romp. It was uncomfortable to sit through, cringe-worthy even, not because it depicted two consenting partners engaging in sex in the privacy of ones’ home but because of Dre’s fascination with and apathy towards the act.

Still, the blowback landed at Bailey’s feet with fans questioning why she’d consent to having sex on screen and making misogynistic comments that felt, well, gross. Idris’ involvement in the scene, interestingly enough, was never brought up. The reactionary takes felt reminiscent of early aughts attitudes when slut-shaming was still en vogue and sex sold, but only if it satisfied the male ego.

“For so long, people have been told that there is one ‘goal’ when having sex, and that is to please your male partner if you are in a heterosexual relationship – which, let’s face it, has been the norm in most TV or movie programming in recent decades,” Shan Boodram, a sex educator and Bumble’s Sex and Relationship expert, tells UPROXX.

Sex on screen has a long and storied history – from the enforcement of the Hays Code, which meant even married couples on screen had to sleep in separate twin beds and couldn’t utter the word “pregnant” on air (see I Love Lucy), to the revolutionary (yet still flawed) depictions gifted by Carrie Bradshaw and her group of unapologetically horny friends on HBO’s Sex and the City, to Lena Dunham’s Girls, a show that depicted intimacy in all its various shapes and sizes, a pedestrian element of living instead of a bit of salacious ratings tinder.

But only recently has female pleasure been pushed to the forefront.

“We are really looking at sex on screen through a different lens now than the one that we were before,” Intimacy Coordinator Lizzy Talbot tells UPROXX. “Our perspective on what makes a good sex scene has changed dramatically. We’re not just seeing heterosexual penetrative sex anymore where there’s an orgasm of both people from penetrative sex very quickly. We’re seeing a lot more foreplay, we’re seeing a lot more buildup. We’re seeing real relationships being reflected on screen, which I don’t think that they really were to this point before.”

Shows like Bridgerton (which Talbot works on) and Sex Education have not only made sex enjoyable to watch on screen for female-identifying audiences, they’ve educated viewers on aspects of intimacy that aren’t talked about enough. Talbot says that, although she sees occasional negativity on social media from show watchers, it’s the scenes that teach us something – about female pleasure or the steamy acts covered under the wide umbrella of “sex” – that get the biggest response.

“You can talk about sex, but then when you see it, and when you see it done in a really positive way with lots of consent involved, I think that’s what has an impact,” Talbot says. “Where do you see excellent portrayals of consent in sex [i.e. partners discussing their boundaries, kinks, and rules for safety] on screen prior to 2017 and 2018? There’s not that much out there.”

Boodram echoes that sentiment.

“I think we are very accustomed to seeing women enjoy sex on screen but through the lens of what brings pleasure to a man,” she adds. “To me, a lot of mainstream media sex is often a fantasy world where sex is catered to a man’s sexual needs, and somehow everything he likes is exactly what she desires. I think the difference now is that the media is showing that women can receive pleasure in ways that don’t directly benefit men or their egos.”

So, if shows like Insecure and Harlem (two examples Boodram lists as doing sex well on screen) and romance series like Outlander and Normal People are finally getting female pleasure right – why the renewed outcry over sex on screen?

“What I think is happening is the quality of sex is rising as opposed to the quantity,” Talbot offers. “There’s a big conversation around parity on screen” (i.e. male actors disrobing just as often as their female counterparts) “so there’s a conversation to be had regarding exposure versus sex. Because you can have a lot of sex scenes where people are almost entirely clothed. And I think the reaction to those might be different to those where the characters are fully nude.”

Parity is part of the rise in quality, obviously. It’s unfair and unrealistic to expect to see a woman’s body on display during a sex scene but not a man’s. Still, the increase in prosthetic penises and full-frontal shots could be adding to the discomfort of viewers who aren’t used to desensitizing themselves to male bodies in the same way they are female bodies.

“I think many of us are seeing more intimacy than ever across TV and film: more diversity in the kinds of sex, more diversity in who has sex, and more diversity in the body parts shown on screen,” Boodram says. “This is truly a positive thing because we are straying away from the heteronormative model of how sex is depicted in media — kiss, kiss, clothes come off, penis goes in, cut to both people looking satisfied wrapped up in sheets — but because it’s new, it can seem scary or intimidating.”

It’s important then to investigate exactly what people are complaining about and ask why seeing women explore their sexuality on screen is so offensive.

“People are much more comfortable watching a murder than they sometimes are a sex scene,” Talbot laments. An on-the-nose-yet-completely-ludicrous idea considering how sexualized our culture is. The online backlash to sex scenes on screen isn’t going to change her role on set, or the content being made. “I’ve not seen the sex being axed because of a conversation on Twitter about too much sex on screen,” she assures me. “I think there’s so much invested in the creative that I don’t believe that those conversations are really impacting real-world storytelling.”

But the fact that one scene – like Bailey’s in Swarm – or one comment – like Badgley’s about You – can snowball into an avalanche of think pieces and Tik Toks and conservative talking points that pull focus from the sex-positive, femme-empowering depictions of intimacy happening on screen right now is still worrisome.

“As diverse representations of sexuality become more normalized over time, people may become more accepting and appreciative of seeing women’s pleasure on-screen in ways that don’t benefit the male ego,” Boodram says. “Discomfort shouldn’t be a barrier to pursuing diversity and gender equality when showcasing sexuality on-screen.”

And if watching women get off on screen at the same rate as men makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should ask yourself the same question we just did. Why?

A juror in the delightfully entertaining Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial has opened up about why the actress won her countersuit against Terry Sanderson. The retired optometrist had sued Paltrow for $300,000 over claims that she crashed into him from behind at a Utah ski resort. Sanderson reportedly suffered serious injuries including broken ribs and a concussion, and he claimed Paltrow skied away after the incident. However, Paltrow countersued, claiming Sanderson crashed into her, and a jury bought it.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, juror No. 11 Samantha Imrie explained why she sided with Paltrow in the verdict after changing her opinion several times during the trial:

Ultimately, Imrie said she felt the expert witnesses, like Dr. Irving Scher, who testified on Paltrow’s behalf, helped her reach a conclusion.

“He’s a snow sports expert in many different ways. I think the fact that Dr. Scher could speak to the din settings and he specifically studied snow science, that he had a stronger opinion,” Imrie said.

Imrie also made it a point to note that Paltrow’s celebrity status had nothing to do with the verdict despite Sanderson’s claim to the contrary after the trial. This was about the law, and wait, did she say “snow science” back there?

“I think it’s important that the public doesn’t just think that this was a win because Gwyneth’s a celebrity,” Imrie said. “I mean, this is based on the evidence. This is based on the law. I do work in medicine and you have to look at everyone the same. So I think that that should apply in the courtroom as well.”

Congrats to Gwyneth. Please don’t spend that dollar all in one place.

(Via ABC News)